Amazing Fun Facts

– The domestic dog has been one of the most popular working and companion animals throughout human history.

– Dogs perform many useful tasks for humans including hunting, farm work and security as well as assisting those with disabilities such as the blind.

– Although experts often disagree, there is scientific evidence which shows that the domestication of dogs could have occurred more than 15,000 years ago.

– The most popular breed of dog in the world by registered ownership is the Labrador. With their gentle nature, obedience, intelligence and near limitless energy, Labradors make for excellent family pets and reliable workers. They often assist police and are a common choice as guide dogs.

– Dogs have formed such a strong bond as pets, workers and companions to humans that they have earned the nickname “man’s best friend”.

– Humans help train various dog breeds to enter in competitions such as breed shows, agility and obedience contests, racing and sled pulling.

– Dog have superior hearing than humans, capable of hearing sounds at four times the distance.

– Dogs have a remarkable sense of smell, they are capable of differentiating odours in concentrations nearly 100 million times lower than humans can.

– The average life span for a dog is around 10 to 14 years.

– Dogs have about 100 different facial expressions, most of them made with the ears.

– Sound comes from vibrations. These vibrations create sound waves which move through mediums such as air and water before reaching our ears.

– Our ears vibrate in a similar way to the original source of the vibration, allowing us to hear many different sounds.

– Sound is used by many animals to detect danger, warning them of possible attacks before they happen.

– Sound can’t travel through a vacuum (an area empty of matter).

– When travelling through water, sound moves around four times faster than when it travels through air.

– The scientific study of sound waves is known as acoustics.

– Although music can be hard to define, it is often described as a pleasing or meaningful arrangement of sounds.

– The sound of thunder is produced by rapidly heated air surrounding lightning which expands faster than the speed of sound.

– Rabbits and parrots can see behind themselves without even moving their heads!

– Butterflies taste food by standing on top of it! Their taste receptors are in their feet unlike humans who have most on their tongue.

– Although the Stegosaurus dinosaur was over 9 metres long, its brain was only the size of a walnut.

– Humans get a little taller in space because there is no gravity pulling down on them.

– Because of the unusual shape of their legs, kangaroos and emus struggle to walk backwards.

– A hippopotamus may seem huge but it can still run faster than a man.

– Even if an analog clock is broken, at least it shows the correct time twice a day.

– The trickiest tongue twister in the English language is apparently “Sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick”. Give it a try and see for yourself.

– Metals are usually solid, good conductors of electricity and heat, shiny when clean, strong and malleable (meaning they can be bent and shaped).

– Gold is shiny and doesn’t corrode, this means it is a great metal for making jewelry.

– While aluminium is the most common metal found in the Earth’s crust, the most common metal found on Earth is iron, mostly because it makes up such a large part of the Earth’s core.

– Copper is a good conductor of electricity and is often used for making wires.

– At room temperature, mercury is the only metal that is in liquid form.

– Aluminium is a good conductor of heat and is often used to make cooking pots.

– Alkali metals such as sodium, potassium, rubidium, caesium and francium are extremely reactive elements, just putting them in water can result in an explosion! They are carefully stored in oil to prevent this happening.

– Metals are strong and are useful for making tools, buildings, bridges and other structures where strength is important.

– Steel is an important alloy (combination of metals) that is created from a mixture of metals, mostly iron. There are many different types of steel including stainless steel, galvanized steel and carbon steel. Steel is commonly used to make a number of products including knives, machines, train rails, cars, motors and wires.

– Bronze is a metal alloy made from copper and tin. Copper makes up the larger amount, usually between 80 to 95%.

– Mathematics is important in many different types of jobs, including engineering, business, science, medicine and more.

– It is believed that Ancient Egyptians used complex mathematics such as algebra, arithmetic and geometry as far back as 3000 BC.

– It wasn’t until the 16th century that most mathematical symbols were invented. Before this time math equations were written in words, making it very time consuming.

– A three dimensional parallelogram is called a parallelepiped.

– Trigonometry is the study of the relationship between the angles of triangles and their sides.

– If two quantities have a ratio of approximately 1.618, they are said to be in the golden ratio. This ratio has been used throughout history to design aesthetically pleasing art works such as the Parthenon. It also appears in paintings, music, the design of books, and even in nature.